A Step Toward Compromise on Wonderland parcel

Originally published in the print version of The Ocean City Sentinel
October 15, 2025
by Jim Kelly

At the October 9 Council meeting, something important happened. 

Amid all the comments about Wonderland and the future of the Boardwalk, there was, if you listened carefully, more agreement than disagreement.  

The City Council announced the creation of a Boardwalk Subcommittee that will undertake a zoning study of the entire Boardwalk corridor. That study will then be provided, in a timely manner, to the Planning Board for consideration as part of the City’s Master Plan. I’m very proud to have been asked to join this committee as I feel the work is critical to our town—and the right step forward.  

During public comment, those who favor a hotel asked, instead, that the council refer to the planning board the question as to whether the current Wonderland property was in need of rehabilitation. This is the same resolution as had been previously defeated 6-1.

But if you listened closely to the hotel supporters, their real request was for the planning board to provide zoning guidance—clarity on whether a hotel should or should not be permitted. 

That’s exactly what the Council’s new process will address, on a comprehensive basis. A rehabilitation designation, by contrast, doesn’t determine future uses or zoning. It simply evaluates whether a single site qualifies as “in need of rehabilitation.” That’s not what anyone at the meeting was truly asking about last night. Everyone, on both sides, wants to know what the Boardwalk rules should be going forward. So, the Council’s approach is the right one for everyone.  

Then came another theme—compromise.

For too long, this conversation has been trapped in a false dichotomy: a massive high-rise hotel or nothing at all.  That kind of framing isn’t conducive to collaboration. It breeds frustration instead of progress.

That’s why the creation of the Boardwalk Subcommittee is such a positive and forward-looking step. It represents a chance to study the Boardwalk comprehensively—to find the right mix of uses and scale that fit Ocean City’s character and long-term vision.

As Ocean City 2050 has been advocating for some time, Boardwalk zoning should not remain frozen in time. It must change and adapt. But that doesn’t mean an 8 story, 255 room resort should be permitted. 

The goal is to find the right middle ground: zoning rules and design principles that protect what makes Ocean City special while encouraging smart, sustainable investment. That middle ground can be a compromise that is economically and strategically the right answer for the long-term health of the Boardwalk.

Neither side will get everything they want, but that’s what real compromise means. That realization can become the spark for real negotiation. If that happens, this subcommittee can become the bridge that gets us to a lasting solution.

With the right tone, clear guardrails, and a willingness to listen, Ocean City can find an outcome that reflects its values, supports its economy, and sets the Boardwalk up for success for the next 50 years.